By Hou Akot Hou
South Sudan People’s Defense Force (SSPDF) officer has lost his life Aweil West County, Northern Bahr El Ghazal State after he jumped out of a moving car to collect part of his money carried away by wind.
The incident occurred Tuesday while a passenger vehicle was en-route to Aweil.
The deceased officer, identified as Atem Akok, 55, was reportedly counting money while the vehicle was in motion when a sudden gust of wind blew some of the bills away.
In an attempt to retrieve the money, he jumped from the moving vehicle.
According to Police Director Philip Agany Thiep, the accident happened between Pantiit and the bridge leading to Aweil.
“The SSPDF officer died between Pantiit and the bridge as they headed towards Aweil, in the process the wind blew away some money estimated at around 18,000 SSP on seeing that he jumped away and broke his neck,” said Agany.
“The boy who was a pedestrian on the main road picked up the money and the officer jumped out of the vehicle to pick up the money, as he tended to reach out to the boy, he jumped away and in the process, he broke his neck instantly. The injury caused internal bleeding, which led to his death,” He added.
The Police Director noted that Capt. Atem Akok’s actions were careless, as he failed to inform the vehicle’s turnboy about the money being blown away by the wind.
He said the vehicle’s driver has been taken into custody as investigations continue.